Appeal No. 1999-1101
Application 08/727,125
oblique measurements to avoid interference with background"
(Br15). It is also argued that "[t]he oblique measurement
system of Demetriades-Shah, et al., requires separated sources
of light and detector devices not indicative of the current
system" (Br16).
None of the claims on appeal recite a specific sensor,
much less a sensor that uses downward radiation and reflection
of upward waves. Nor do the claims recite measuring a
specific characteristic which might indirectly limit the type
of sensor; e.g., measurement of plant biomass (also called
crop density or fractional cover), the relative amounts of
soil and green vegetation within view of the sensor, is
measured by a downward-looking sensor (specification, pp. 3-4;
Demetriades-Shah, p. 1049). The claims only require a sensor
that measures a characteristic (claim 1) or a physical
characteristic (claims 3 and 9) of the crop. Demetriades-Shah
describes a comparison between radiometer sensors that are
oriented looking vertically down and that are oriented at an
oblique angle (p. 1050) and, thus, teaches both kinds of
measurement. Each type of orientation is good for a certain
purpose. A reference must be evaluated for all it fairly
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